Fullbringer
by halberd42
Summary: Ichigo discovered Fullbring before he met Rukia. How will being a Fullbringer, instead of being a Substitute Shinnigami, change events?
1. Chapter 1

**I figure people are asking, "Another story? Is this going to happen after every three chapters like your other fic's?"**

**I assure you, its not like that. I saw this challenge on The Infamous Man's profile, and I just _had_ to try it. There's a fic called "My Own Way" by Sig Uchiha that was a neat read, but it hasn't updated in over six months, and is kind of sad to think it might not update. Trying a Bleach story with only Ichigo's Fullbring will be interesting to try, and I hope people will like this fic. **

**Before you ask if this is another harem fic, I'm letting the readers decide on the pairing. A day after this is posted, I'm going to put a poll up to decide on who Ichigo is going to be with, and if you don't like the choices I'm going to put there, pick Harem and i'll decide on who will be in it if thats going to be the choice.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Bleach.**

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><p>The rain fell, grey clouds slowly moving across the sky as the residents of Karakura Town moved to get home, or into some form of shelter as quickly as possible. Two such people were seen walking down the sidewalk, one a young woman with fair skin and long, light, wavy brown hair tied in a knot down to her back and had bangs down to her chin in the front. Wearing a light pink shirt and dark knee length skirt, she held the umbrella that was over her nine year old son, Ichigo Kurosaki. Orange was the color of his spiky hair, a smile on his face as he walked with the mother. A yellow rain coat was also used to help the child protect it from the droplets that were dropping from the clouds.<p>

They moved forward by the river's edge, which was quite high due to heavy rain that had been going on for a few days. Despite the danger, the orange haired boy found with his brown eyes a young girl wearing a white poncho, with black straight hair, standing of the river's edge with no umbrella. She looked unsteady, as if she was going to jump in…

Ichigo left his mother's side, ignoring his mom calling out to him as he ran towards the girl. At a smaller age, the boy had heard his father saying that his name meant 'to protect one thing', so he wanted to protect his mom, who has always protected him. When his sisters were born, he wanted to protect them, and attended at a dojo to be able to protect them as well. The people he wanted to protect kept increasing, so he wanted to help this girl that was falling.

Ichigo reached his hand out, trying to be able to stop the girl's momentum before who know what will happen. Right before he was about to grab part of the girl's poncho, pain hit him on his right side before darkness overtook him.

_**Five Years Later:**_

"GOOOD MORRRNIIING ICHIGOOO!"

Ichigo's eyes were open after that, lashing out with his right hand and successfully gripping his father's face. The fourteen-year-old teen used the old man's forward momentum to plunge him into the floor.

"Good job my son, there's nothing left I can-your wide open!"

Anticipating the sudden punch, Ichigo blocked it with his left hand, flipping Isshin Kurosaki over onto his front, managing to pin his father to the floor while using leverage over the man's arm. He has become a fairly tall, lean-built person over the years, so it wasn't that hard to pull off the hold cause of the karate lessons he still takes.

"You do this every morning, old man. Is it too much to expect one break on my first day at high school?" The orange haired teen plainly asked his crazy old man.

"You'll get rusty if I let up. Your reaction time will decrease and then you won't be able to guard yourself…like now!" Isshin suddenly called, able to catch Ichigo off balance from a slight kick, that was by the orange haired teen's standards, and make him stumble and let the hold on the older man go, who quickly got back on his feet.

"Success! Now to…"

Isshin never got to finish that statement, Ichigo catching him square in the jaw with a roundhouse kick, sending the single father out from Ichigo's bedroom from whence he came. Sighing, the orange haired teen reclosed door, and went to change into his uniform for Karakura High School. He went to put on a shirt, but stopped to look at his body; he found three scars going from the bottom of his right bicep, which reached to his side aligned to look like a claw mark. Ichigo had gotten it the day his mother was killed, not knowing how he got it. When he woke up from being unconscious, he found himself in a hospital room. After his sisters and father got to him, crying tears of joy that he was alright, he found out that it took an hour before anyone found them, his mom dead over him while he lost a lot of blood; any later and he might've died with his mom.

The news was devastating to Ichigo, knowing his mother was the center of the universe of their family. And once he remembered what had happen before, he couldn't help but blame himself for being a part of how she was killed.

It also made him realized he needed to tell the difference when looking at the spirits of the dead and normal people. He could see spirits as long as he could remember, but couldn't tell the difference when he was younger and didn't think it would matter. That was a foolish decision he made. Convinced it was his fault, he didn't want anyone else he cared about get hurt in the process. So, he still went to the dojo to this day to get as strong as possible.

"Ichi-nii! You're going to be late for school if you don't hurry!" his sister Yuzu called, shaking Ichigo awake from the painful memories. Quickly putting a shirt on and the uniform jacket, he grabbed one last thing before heading out. It was a luck charm with the kanji for Tsuba on it, meaning guard; like a hand-guard for a sword. His old man gave it to him to help get over his depression, as it belong to his mother and Isshin wanted him to have it since it always brought him good luck.

Tying the ends that held the charm inside on the belt loop, by his right pocket on his pants, al the while making sure it wasn't as easy to see, he went downstairs to get a quick bite to eat; he still needed to meet up with Chad.

Getting to the kitchen, he was greeted by a smiling Yuzu Kurosaki, with a cooked egg on a plate for him. She has short light brown hair with short bangs hanging over the right side of her forehead, a red hairclip on the left side of her head. Her eyes are a dark brown color, looking so innocently at her brother. Yuzu was wearing a light pink hooded sweatshirt that reach to her knees, and a yellow apron over it for cooking the egg.

Accepting it, he went and grabbed a few loafs of bread, and put it in the toaster where Karin Kurosaki acknowledged him with a small wave; her dark grey eyes going back to her meal. She has black straight and cropped hair to hang around her face, just above her shoulders. She had on a white short-sleeved shirt with a black tank top over it, and dark shorts for her attire.

With the bread toasted, he placed the egg between the two, making an egg sandwich to eat on the way to school as he headed out the door with his black running shoes on.

_**Karakura High School:**_

"My prefect life!"

The cry on the school grounds came from Keigo Asano, anime tear falling out of his eyes as he looked at whom he was going to be classmates with. He had heard many rumors about Sado and Kurosaki from Mashiba Middle School, none of which were pleasant to the brown haired teen. And now there was confirmation that they too were going to Karakura High School, which he heard after getting to the school to start out four good years there.

While he tried to warn his friend Mizuiro Kojima, the black haired teen just nonchalantly ignored him saying until they met the two, the things he heard were only just rumors. Keigo had no intentions on even showing they existed, preferring to play it safe. Still, it was very depressing to him.

"Why, why did this have to happen?" he asked himself with despair, staring at the class assigning sheet for class C-1. Suddenly, the board broke, startling the two new students who where by the board. When the dust settled as Keigo and Mizuiro looked behind themselves, they found an orange haired teen standing next to a muscular and extremely tall Mexican man with wavy brown hair hanging over eyes, but he was actually a teenager if the Karakura High School boy's uniform said anything.

It wasn't long before other boy students, some with weapons, surrounded them in a wide circle. As Keigo started freaking out, a tall teenager with bleached hair and bleached eyebrows with has three earrings in his left ear and a ring on his lower left lip made himself known, looking smug.

"Did you think you could get away from me Kurosaki? Sado?" Reiichi Oshima would've continued with a rant, if the hyperactive teen hadn't caught his attention. Maybe the two were friends with his targets? Doesn't hurt to check.

"Who're you? Kurosaki's friends?"

"NO!" Keigo hastily shook his head, not looking forward to being buried six feet under. "This is my first time ever seeing them!"

"I'm Kojima Mizurio from Hiiragini Middle School. I'm in class 1-3, nice to meet you." Mizurio introduced himself to Ichigo and Chad, much to the Keigo's horror.

"It looks like they became friends. Da-da-da-dun!" Reiichi crack his knuckles, ready to hurt Kurosaki's friends. As the hyperactive teen called for Mizurio in desperation, it was ignored as the black haired teen got response from the orange haired teen.

"1-3, huh? I'm in that class too. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, and this big guy here is Sado Yasutora." He motioned to the Mexican, who nodded in acknowledgment.

"And, who is that?" the orange haired teen looked towards where Reiichi was standing, the hyperactive teen still trying to get Mizurio's attention despite his predicament.

"He's Asano Keigo. He's pretty smart, although he never studies. He get along well with others and never lies, he's a better person then I am." The black haired teen explained.

"…You're something else." Ichigo told Mizurio, getting a confused look from him, so he explained while he unzipped the school jacket. "It's pretty rare for a person to praise their friend so much around strangers."

"Kojima, are good at making excuses?" the orange haired teen asked, bending his knees.

"So good it's sickening."

"Okay. Then think up a good one in the next five minutes." Ichigo said looking ahead, Chad going next to him ready to fight.

"I need a good one to keep me from getting expelled after I save Asano."

With that, he took off, launching into fray.

_**Hours Later:**_

It wasn't long before school was over, the orange haired teen making his way out of the entrance. While there was some skirmish in the beginning, Kojima was able to save his ass from getting expelled. Then he was able to see some of his classmates, some are new people he never met, and some he knew for a while now. One of the newer ones was Chizuru Honsho, who happens to be a lesbian that is attracted to Orihime Inoue, which caught him off guard a bit once he saw the short red haired girl hitting on the burnt orange haired beauty with blue flowered hairpins.

One person he knew was Tatsuki Arisawa, his childhood friend he goes with to the Furin Hall Dojo. She also happens to look out for Orihime like she was her overprotective mother, and didn't take Chizuru's advances well. Often using physical means to keep the red head in line. All in all, it was an interesting school day.

The sound of sobbing brought his attention to the dead girl by the street lamp, a small girl with her long brown hair worn in pigtails held in place with ball hair bobbles was upset over something. Brining out the small glass with a flower and placing it by the street lamp, Ichigo tried to see what was wrong.

"Hey, what's wrong? I brought you fresh flowers today, what happened?" he asked the girl softly, a small smile on his face as he ignored the looks some people gave, since they thought he was talking to a flower and couldn't see the spirit. After waiting for a minute, the girl calmed down enough to give the orange haired teen an answer.

"…It's kind of weird, the sky is scary."

"The sky is…scary?" he asked, looking up to the blue sky with confusion on his face. It seemed normal, but there was a kind of heavy feeling…

A roar made itself known to the orange haired teen, one of the worst sounds he had ever heard in his life. Right after that, a sudden crash in the earth hit the road that was five feet from the two's location. When the dust cleared, the sight that was before him burned into his mind.

The lower half of its body was a pale green like a snake, the upper body having a muscular human body. The entire body was a pale green color; a giant hole in its chest with a white mask that looked liked a chameleon's face. Fear rushed through his body as his eyes met the yellow glowing ones, it was as if he was prey that was being hunted, and it was only a matter of time before he was caught.

It roared again, beginning to move towards them. Ichigo's eyes widened in panic before grabbing the petrified spirit and took off running in the opposite direction as fast as he could go. He didn't dare look back, knowing if he did it'll distract him enough for whatever that thing was to get close enough to catch him and the dead girl shaking in fear in his arm.

Now that he thought about, while taking random turns still running, the spirits he visited sometime disappear in spots of blood. If it was because of this thing, then it started to make sense why they disappear all of a sudden. The question that needed to be answered was what did this thing do to those spirits? Disaster hit when he turned into a dead end street, being corned as that masked thing blocked the only exit available. Seeing no other option, he placed the girl behind him, still watching the thing while it appeared to be amused by his action, and stood firmly in place.

Because he didn't know what has happened to the spirits of the dead, he was powerless to stop such things no matter how strong he got, which hurt his heart every time it happened. Seeing this masked thing being the cause, there was no way in Hell he'll let it get its hands on the little girl, even if it cost him his life.

"Hey ugly, there's no way I'll let you have this girl! If you want her that badly, you have to get through me!" Ichigo declared, a scowl forming on his face as he glared at this monster. It then roared at him and charged at the orange haired teen while opening its mouth, as if to bite him. Even as his arm shook, knowing he was going to die protecting someone, in the end, made him feel pride that he was trying to accomplish this impossible task.

Suddenly, black energy outlined with red surrounded the orange haired teen, blocking the Hollow's advance dead in its tracks.

'_What the hell?'_ Ichigo thought in confusion, looking at the energy surrounding his body. Extending his right hand to touch the strange energy, it all quickly rushed into his hand, taking shape into what looked like four prongs bent out to form the shape of the manji. The Hollow roared, bringing its hand towards the orange haired teen. Ichigo instinctively held out the energy in front of him. It blocked most of the force, though Ichigo was still knocked back a few feet while miraculously still standing, as he comprehended what happened.

'_It blocked the blow. This is like a guard to a sword blocking attacks, but it can't be used to cut the opponent.'_

Putting both hands on it for better grip, a sensation of power passed through him, building up as hope flickered in his eyes.

' _I can do this.'_ The orange haired teen thought, a smirk appearing on his face. Annoyed by the lack of results, the Hollow brought both its hands together, bringing it down onto the annoyance with all its power. While it formed a noticeable crater when hitting the concrete floor, the black energy sent Ichigo up into the air with no harm. As it stared in shock, the prongs became bigger with two additional prongs forming as Ichigo gave a battle cry, swinging the energy in his hand and sending a spinning projectile at the stunned monster's mask, shattering it. The Hollow howled in pain before it disappeared.

Landing on top of a building, the orange haired teen was able to stay clear from the crowding people, tying to figure out what had happen. Ichigo then watched in amazement as the energy in his right hand compressed and disappeared before forming into his charm.

"…Even when you're not here, you're protecting me." Ichigo whispered, a small glad smile appearing on his face as he caressed the charm. With this power, maybe he can protect the people he cares for…

_**Unknown Location:**_

"…How unexpected."

Watching what had transpired in the World of the Living from a screen was a mild featured man, with brown scholarly hair and eyes wearing square glasses. He wore the standard Shinigami uniform with a Captain's haori with the kanji for five on his back, revealed it to be none other then Aizen Sosuke, mastermind and undercover Captain of the Fifth Squad in Soul Society. While he had ordered that Hollow to kill a spirit Ichigo Kurosaki knew, he hadn't expected for the boy to be by the spirit targeted. Watching the scene play out, he vaguely wondered if the orange haired teen's Shinigami powers would awaken early. To his disappointment, the power Ichigo awoken was Fullbring, not Shinigami powers like he had planned.

Another person watching the screen appeared to be a mid twenty-year-old male, unusually thin and tall with very sharp features and silver hair atop his head. His eyes were narrowed to slits, going with a foxy grin on his face. It was Gin Ichimaru, also an undercover Captain of the Third Squad. He turned to Aizen, amusement in his voice when he spoke.

"Interesting, he unlocks the power the first Substitute Shinigami has to resort to. They seem alike in a way, Aizen-taicho." He said in a joking manner. When no response came, Gin decided to ask what was going to happen now. All the while wondering what was going through the mind of the undercover mastermind.

"Are you going to get rid of Ichigo's Fullbring so that your plans can get back on course?"

"…There's no need." Aizen finally spoke, surprising Gin enough to reveal his sky blue eyes, blinking at the answer given to him.

Aizen decided to explain as got up, walking out of the room. "He gained Fullbring for a reason, most likely the Hogyoku's doing. While Fullbringers have a set of power they can gain once it is complete, Ichigo Kurosaki has his spare dormant Shinigami powers to enhance it, even effecting his Fullbring enough to be formidable to Captain class Shinigami once it's on the verge to being complete. All that is needed is for him is to get enough Reiatsu to be of any challenge for my plans to succeed. If I don't find his progress in a favorable direction, I'll personally make sure he get his Shinigami powers."

"Scary." Gin commented, his foxy smile growing bigger as they made their way back to their divisions.

_**One Year Later:**_

It was silent; the dark night of Karakura Town lighted only by the twenty-four hour businesses from the small amount of people out for their late night jobs. On top of a tall building, watching over the town was the fifteen-year-old Ichigo Kurosaki, scowl on his face as he sensed for any nearby creatures to give him a warm up. He had a black jacket on, a hood over his head with three white lines on top his head, another white mark resembling a eye that covered his left eye, and three more white lines below that with a red interior; it also had white X on his left sleeve on the upper arm.**[1] **Under that was a white dress shirt, and finishing the look were dark blue jeans, black leather gloves , the charm on his belt loop, and white and black sport shoes.

Sensing a disturbance, he quickly removed his hood, run his gloved hand through his hair, green light moving across it. Instantly changing the color from orange to black and making it slightly longer than before. Putting the hood back on, a green light appeared around his feet as he jumped, the same energy accelerating him in the air to the targeted location.

Finding out about this power he gained a year ago, he trained in secret to understand the things he can do. There were a variety of different things, actually. From what he understood, while people have a certain amount of spiritual power, all inanimate objects had some also, and he can manipulate the objects to an extent on how he understood their workings. Like making the asphalt and concrete more elastic for example, or to even use the air to help accelerate his movements. He even found away to change his hair color, but that was just to make sure people didn't recognize him if they ever caught a glimpse of his orange hair and connect it to him once they see him again.

There were a few major things he had tried to pull off, but it wasn't really practical in battle unless the right condition were there; one such event almost killed him.

Reaching Tsubakidai Park, Ichigo landed on a tree in the middle of the seemingly abandoned park, hiding his spiritual power from any other thing that could sense it. It was something he first learned once he got his powers; finding out those masked creatures could sense his location and endanger his family and friends if he didn't do anything about it. The wait was short, and he soon found three of the masked creatures toying with a terrified adult couple spirits, finding amusement with their prey.

"Tsuba of Bonds." Ichigo muttered, the four black prongs with red outlined energy appearing in his right hand. This was the only thing he could use as a real weapon, figuring the fondness for the charm from his mother was the cause of it. Sending out a three-pronged attack, it surprised the group of Hollows, hitting the ground in front of where there meal was.

Getting their attention, green light surrounded the temporary black haired teens feet as he launched himself at the group, kicking the middle masked creature away from its buddies. The two Hollows that weren't attacked tried to hit the hooded figure with their claws, but their attacks bounced off three-prongs of energy in both the teens hands. Using the same energy, Ichigo launched the propeller-like blasts in his hands; hitting the two Hollows mask and made their existence disappear.

Pissed off, the last Hollow tried to get the hooded teen from behind, prepared to bite him in half. Ichigo quickly sidestep it, and turned in with a knee to the Hollow's gut. Next, the temporary black haired teen used the shoulder of the masked creature as support to kick the back of his opponent's neck, landing on the creatures shoulders and used his fists to disorient the Hollow's head.

For the last combo, Ichigo used his foe's shoulders as leverage again to jump in the air, going in before the masked monster could regain its bearings with an enhanced axe kick while using the air to gain more speed, and landed a devastating blow on the Hollow's head. Annihilating it entirely as the kick made a small crater in the ground. Finished with the workout, the hooded teen left the scene as the spirits watched in awe at the skills displayed.

Once in a more secluded area, Ichigo removed the hood, changed his hair back to normal, and made his way home. Still having thirty minutes until dinner was ready.

_**Minamikawase District:**_

In another part of Karakura Town, someone else was looking over the area while standing on top of a street lamp. It appeared to be a short female, that was dressed in black Shinigami uniform and carrying a sword on her hip. Her purple eyes where cold and calculating, surveying the area.

"I see. I sense some powerful souls."

With that, she jumped into the air, going to the area she sensed the strong Reiatsu.

**(Author Notes)**

**[1] Please refer to the Bleach beginning color page on Chapter 483 for a better description.**


	2. Chapter 2

__**Hello! Just finish the chapter here, and I hope you all like it. before I get to the review corner and you read the latest chapter of Fullbringer, I need the readers to vote on the pairings after you're finished. Still currently have a tie, and I can't work with that. I'm keeping the polls up for one more day till twelve at noon, so please vote if you haven't already.**

**review corner time!**

**Ranma Uzumaki: Yes, its cool.**

**Kuro Arashi: Thank you, I hope you'll enjoy the story as it progresses.**

**Fangking2: One of the requirements was for Ichigo not to know about Xcution and not join them, so they won't. But, that doesn't mean he won't meet anyone while not knowing what they are.**

**xxnarutodemonxx: Glad you find potential with this story, I hope it'll reach great heights someday. Don't tell me about the pairing in reviews, vote on the poll if you haven't already.**

**SkywrdSwrd: I found his powers interesting, hope you'll like what happens with them.**

**Xemmnas: With his first stage of power, fighting someone like Ikkaku will give him a good run for his money. **

**Chash123: Read the chapter to find out about the stage of power. There will be changes, just hope its to everyones liking. ^‿^**

**mets986: Glad you like how Fullbring is going. Read the chapter on their introduction. Xcution as a whole will come later, since its a bit early for their appearance.**

**Martyna1: Thanks for the review.**^‿^****

****Highvalor: Infamous has very interesting idea's, but this one stuck with me more. Thanks.****

****ATPT557: Read more, this chapter is up!****

****The Infamous Man: This is very great, thanks for placing this idea up! Hope everyone likes what happens.****

****MR. DEATH RIDER: Hello, I'm halberd42. Thanks for the pairings idea, hope there is someone you find an interest in one of the choices. You have been answered by halberd42, thanks again.****

****On with the story!****

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><p><em><strong>Kurosaki Clinic:<strong>_

Landing a few feet away from his father's clinic, Ichigo removed his hood and prepared himself as he walked the rest of the way there. His best guess was that he was late for dinner, and knowing his old man he'll attack him for being late. No longer delaying the inevitable, the orange haired teen walked in his home.

"I'm home."

"Your late!" Isshin yelled, sending a kick towards his son. The orange haired teen brought his right arm up and blocked the attack, sending back a left palm strike. Connecting, the older man was sent back clutching his stomach in pain.

"You're doing well my son, remaining alert when entering a room while you're late for dinner, again! When are you going to learn some responsibility?" Isshin asked, standing back up to get ready to attack when possible.

"Maybe when my father learns making his healthy high school son coming home by seven o'clock is way too strict!" Ichigo yelled, scowling at his father. "Besides, I was helping a ghost couple find peace."

"So it's the ghosts' fault now, is it? Don't try that excuse again. You've been using that similar line for over a year now, even Karin has been in on your game on 'seeing' ghosts!" Isshin shouted back at the orange haired teen.

"Don't bring me into your fight," Karin talked back, more interested in her empty bowl than the latest battle between father and son. "I don't see what's the big deal is with ghosts, I don't believe in them."

"I think you and Ichi-nii are lucky," Yuzu said, refilling her sister's rice bowl. " I can sometime sense their presence, but that's about it. I don't see how you can say something like that."

"I'm in permanent denial, just seeing them doesn't mean I believe in ghosts." Karin replied without a hint of emotion.

"…Now that's cold." A spirit of an older man said to himself, going into the house before the black haired girl talked. Hearing the spirit, the orange haired teen finished an elbow to his father's back, making him the winner of their normal routine.

"Like my dinner. Forget it, I'm going to my room." He told his family, then spun around and headed upstairs.

"Ichi-nii!" Yuzu tried to get his attention, but her cry fell on deaf ears.

Once inside his room, Ichigo turned on the light, opening his closet and hanged up his jacket and placed the gloves on the top shelf. Closing the door, he sat on the bed, another night of defeating the masked creatures behind him. He preferred working at night, since more people see him easier in the day and think he's some vigilante from the aftermath of his fight.

It then took a different turn, once he stopped some common crimes that happen in front of him. People were now thinking he was some kind of superhero wannabe. While the orange haired teen didn't actively look for crime, he couldn't just stand there and watch what happens in front of him. He mostly stuck with hand-to-hand combat during the day, not wanting people to see anything too out of the ordinary.

To sum it up, it was a hassle to deal with the masked creatures in the day. It didn't help that they were after the regular spirits sometimes hunting by a crowded area. So deep in thought, it took Ichigo a moment to realize the stronger than normal spiritual power he sensed before was by his house.

He put his back to his wall, trying to get some distance from the person who had just phased into his room. The spirit was a short female, only a few centimeters higher then Karin was. She was dressed in a black hakama carrying a sword; setting her apart from the normal spirits he has seen before. Her cold purple eyes where surveying his room, as if looking for something. She stepped off his desk, methodically and calmly walking to the middle of his room.

"Its close." She noted, ignoring the orange haired teen now scowling behind her back.

*BAM! *

The girl never the saw the kick coming, hitting her on her behind. She was completely surprised and confused while lying on the ground as the orange haired teen proceeded to ask her who she was and what she was after.

"H-how did you do that?" the raven-haired girl asked in bewilderment, still not sure if what had transpired actually happened.

"Do what?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"How is it you can see me, for that matter be able to kick me?" The girl yelled out while pointing at him.

"I just can." Ichigo shrugged, figuring the spirit was new around here since she seems so surprised about being seen.

"…You must be defective in some way," the girl mused as got back up, looking over the strange human who can see and physically touch her. "While you look normal, something must be wrong with you to make this strange phenomenon possible."

"I'm not some strange experiment that just gone wrong." Ichigo scowled at the rude spirit, glaring at the girl who almost seemed fascinated with her discovery. "If I'm 'defective', then what make you so special, midget?"

"…Midget?" The girl growled out.

"You heard me. Just because you carry a sword and wear a samurai costume, it doesn't mean you can just go and act all high and mighty, judging people base on you perception of reality." Ichigo told the girl, not noticing her growing rage.

With that said, the orange haired teen went over and place a hand on the girl's head firmly, showing a reminder of the height difference between the two. " Now, why don't you just go and run along, play your 'samurai' game somewhere else, brat."

Tick marks were appearing on the Shinigami's head, anger rising from the remarks.

"I'm a brat, am I?" she muttered, ready to show this human his place. She pointed her index and middle finger towards Ichigo, calling out her Kido spell.

"Bakudo One: Sai!"

The raven haired Shinigami watch in satisfaction as the human's arms moved behind his back, as if they had a life of their own suddenly and painfully. Knowing the orange haired teen won't be able to escape, she waited for him to fall to the ground…

*SNAP! *

…Only to be flabbergasted at the site of the teen breaking the Kido, too stunned to notice she was picked up by her robes, the orange haired teen glaring at her.

"Nice trick, but it'll take more than that to hold me back. I'll ask again, who are you? What are you after?" Ichigo demanded, bringing the Shinigami back to reality. Before she could speak, a deep curling yell echoed through the house. Using his senses, he knew there was one of those masked creatures by his house. Releasing the raven-haired spirit, he ran to the closest window, finding a humanoid creature approximately sixteen feet high, a fish like mask on its face dorsal fins on the back standing in front of his house, read to attack.

"Tsuba of Bonds." Ichigo said, four black prongs with red outlined energy reappearing in his right hand. Not having time to worry about the little details, green energy surrounded his feet as he launched himself outside, shattering the window that also alerted the creature of his presence. It quickly tried to punch him, but the energy in the orange haired teens hand blocked the blocked the blow, swatting it away while he used the air to help propel a kick in the things gut, sending the masked creature away into the air.

Ichigo was about to give chase, but what appeared to be a bolt of lightning heading his direction, forcing him to block with the prongs of spiritual energy that sent the lightning into the sky above. It was then he saw the raven-haired spirit glaring at him, Zanpakuto drawn and ready to fight.

"What the hell is your problem?" the teen asked, prepared to defend attacks when needed.

"I haven't heard of or seem a human who could see Shinigami, and break out of a Bakudo spell. What's stranger is that you spiritual power is similar to a Hollow. Just what are you?" the Shinigami demanded, bringing her sword up threateningly.

"You're the strange one! I've never seen any spirit with magic spells acting superior with a sword, and I've seen spirits as long as I can remember. And what's a Shinigami and Hollow?" Ichigo asked, confused as Hell to the current turn of events.

"I'm a Shinigami. We have the duties to send the deceased spirits to the Soul Society, and purifying the Hollow's, like the one that you got rid of, is why I'm assigned to look after Karakura Town."

"Then why are you attacking me?"

"Humans that have Hollow Reiatsu are abnormal, even by the standards of humans who have spiritual power. To make sure you don't cause a threat to the World of the Living, I'll have to detain you and bring you to Soul Society to decide your fate." The Shinigami said while placing herself in a stance, ready to strike Ichigo.

Scowling, Ichigo knew it was taking a bad turn. Even if he try to convince this 'Shinigami' he's not a threat, it'll be useless. Green energy surrounded his feet as the orange haired teen launch himself into the sky, the raven haired Shinigami giving chase. Once he felt that he was high enough in the air, the teen quickly changed direction, energy clashing with the sword as they fought to get the upper hand.

Managing to push her away, Ichigo went back in with an uppercut with the prongs of energy, meeting the Zanpakuto in an upward angel. Still in that position, he sent an air propelled roundhouse kick. While it met the Shinigami's arm to block, it still sent the raven-haired spirit back for a quick tumble. Getting back up, the Shinigami saw the orange haired teen heading her way, so she held her hand out in front of her.

"Hado Thirty-Three: Sokatsui!" she yelled, a torrent of blue spiritual energy heading for the boy. Ichigo brought up his prongs of energy to shield himself from the blast, effectively stopping it in its tracks, tough the cloud of smokes block his vision somewhat. Hearing the sharp sound of air above, the orange haired teen managed to block a downward strike from above. Regaining his footing, he managed to push the Shinigami to the right side, having to block a right hook with considerable power behind it. Then the raven-haired spirit sent in a left sidekick, forcing Ichigo to lean back to dodge, then having to jump away as a right sweep kick tried to set him off balance. It was then the orange haired teen spotted the yellow energy crackling in the raven-haired spirits hands.

"Bakudo Four: Hainawa!" she called, the energy lashing out and entangling Ichigo's arms and upper body. Being forced to try and break free, he heard the Shinigami started chanting.

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens. Hado Seventy-Three: Soren Sokatsui!" Upon finishing it, instead of one, two concentrated shots of blue energy launched from her palms, about the same time the orange haired teen broke free from the bindings. Thinking quick, he sent out a full powered propeller blast with six prongs, the two projectiles meeting. The attacks struggled for a bit, but both were destroyed, equal in power.

Neither person was getting anywhere, which was apparent from the light breathing from both competitors. In a sudden burst of speed, Ichigo managed to connect a front snap kick to the surprised raven-haired spirits stomach, sending the girl flying backwards. Using Reiatsu, the Shinigami skid on the air, slowing down to a crawl. When she looked back to her opponent, a four-pronged projectile was seen heading towards her location. Bringing her Zanpakuto up, the raven-haired spirit kept the attack at bay. Though it still tried to break through, increasing her skid time.

"Sorry," Ichigo spoke from behind the Shinigami, seeing her eyes widen when looking behind her. "I'm going to end this now."

A full powered propeller blast was launch into the raven-haired spirits unguarded back, causing the other projectile to break through and also connect. The Shinigami started falling, considerable damage done on her being. The orange haired teen gave chase, not hearing the raven-haired spirit muttering another incantation.

"Bakudo Sixty-One…Rikujokoro."

Ichigo didn't expect six wide, thin yellow beams slamming into his midsection from all around him. His movement was forcibly stopped, and no amount of strength he could muster could remove the bonds. Now that he thought about it, some parts of his body worked, while others didn't.

"Its no use trying to escape, you're wasting your energy." The voice of the Shinigami spoke, making him look ahead to find the exhausted spirit. Her hakama had some tears on the sleeves, and looked singed around the shoulders. Her back mostly likely had the most scorch marks, he guessed.

"That Bakudo requires more than just brute strength to break out of."

"I figured that was the case." Ichigo replied dryly.

"While you may be experienced in battle, I still have a few thing up my sleeve to gain the upper hand. I may look young to you, but I lived ten of your lifetimes. I could kill you on the spot if it wasn't against my orders to kill humans, so be grateful little brat." The Shinigami told Ichigo, looking down on him coldly.

"…Either way I look at it, you're still a midget." Ichigo told her with a smirk.

*Wham! *

"That's not the point!" the raven-haired Shinigami exclaimed, face flushed in anger from the jab about her height, hitting the orange haired teen on his head. "I've trained many more years then you, there's no way you could've won!"

"That's because you have magic spells up your sleeve! I would've kick your ass without you cheating!" Ichigo shot back, scowling at the Shinigami spirit.

"Using what your know in battle isn't cheating!"

" If relying on magical girl reject gimmick's is your way of fighting, then your own strength must suck ass!"

The Shinigami's eye twitched at that comment, a tick mark appearing on her head. She was about to retort when a large Spiritual Pressure surprised the two. The raven-haired spirit managed to dodge a sudden attack from above, bringing her gaze around the area. There had to be at least fourteen Hollows surrounding them. How did they surround them without her noticing?

"**Sentido Bloqueador. [1] It's a handy ability that blocks the opponent's senses to Spiritual pressure in a five-foot perimeter."** A deep voice answered, as if the Shinigami's question was asked out loud. She turned to the voice, finding the Hollow from before amongst the other masked creatures.

"**You saved us a lot of trouble, Shinigami."**

"What do you mean?" the raven-haired spirit demanded, keeping her guard up while seeing which Hollow would attack first.

"**Having you deal with this Hollow killer, and managing to trap him with your spell means less work for us. And with you weakened now, it's an added bonus for us to eat."** The Hollows chuckled in delight, ready for a good meal.

Ichigo gritted his teeth, not pleased with what was happening. As they talked, small green sparks moved across his mid section where the bars of light hit his body. While knowing the bars of light was the cause of his paralysis, trying to remove it with little knowledge and inconspicuously was challenging.

"I'm not going to be beaten so easily, Hollow." The Shinigami spat, raising her spiritual pressure slightly, trying to appear threatening. Some of the Hollow's did tense slightly, but most appeared amused.

"**Your still have some fight within you, good. Wouldn't want it do be too easy."** The apparent leader hummed with hunger, ready to fight. "**I am curious, how do you plan to defeat all of us, while having to worry about others around?"**

The raven-haired spirit quickly looked to the right, finding a few of the Hollows heading towards the house she was at before. She tried to stop them, but was forced to jump back, two Hollow's attacking her at different locations. Other masked creatures went on the initiative, having her bring her Zanpakuto up to block a pair of claws. Using her other hand, she brought it to her side, energy gathering in it.

"Sokatsui!" The Shinigami yelled, noticing the blue spiritual energy blast was weaker then before. Thought, it did give her breathing room from the other Hollow's to push the Hollow by her away with her sword and gain distance. Around that time, a wave of rage passed through the orange haired teen, having no intentions on those monsters get his family.

A lot of green energy lashed out around Ichigo's waist, getting him out of the spell casted on him. For a split moment, energy from the prongs in his hand started to move up his arm, but stopped when he sent out six single prong projectiles. While it was Ichigo's weakest ranged attacks, it proved useful to keep the Hollow's attacking him away for the moment he needed. Launching at the group of masked creatures as fast as possible, the orange haired teen easily caught up.

Three-prongs of energy each was thrown from Ichigo's hands, destroying two Hollows mask while he sent a kick through the third ones. Catching his breath, the four prongs of energy reappeared in the orange haired teens right hand as Hollows started charging at him.

Back with the Shinigami, her strain on her body was getting worse as she fought on. Both hand on her Zanpakuto, she made a wound on a Hollow's arm as it cried out in pain. Instead of going for the finishing blow, the raven-haired spirit was forced to move as another masked creature tried to bite at her. Every time she tried to purify one Hollow, others intervened and attacked in groups of two or three. Seeing two masked creatures coming at her, she pointed her pointer and middle finger at them.

"Hado Four: Byakurai!" the Shinigami yelled, the concentrated bolt of lightning firing out. It managed to hit one of the Hollows, but the other dodged the Kido while still charging. The raven-haired Shinigami slashed her sword downwards as soon as the masked creature got close, its own momentum deciding its fate. At the rate things were going, she'd be killed before dealing with the Hollow's.

Ichigo was having troubles of his own as well. While there were times he dealt with multiple opponents, dealing with number while they worked together after he had a fight was getting taxing. Brining the energy prongs up, the orange haired teen blocked one Hollow's punch, and went to kick another moving in from the right side. Hitting its mid section, Ichigo allowed himself to fall in order to dodge a surprise attack from above. His powers worked with his stamina, and he is starting to tire from doing so many things tonight.

Seeing the same Hollow still chasing him, Ichigo launched a three-pronged projectile above. Though once it got within its range, the masked creature swatted the attack away. Scowling, the orange haired teen stopped his decent, ducking from a punch from a muscular Hollow and rolling away from the skyward attack.

The raven-haired Shinigami managed to purify another Hollow, almost reaching her limits. With the numbers lessened, the Shinigami spirit figured she still has enough strength left to finish the battle, but just so as she prepared to release her Zanpakuto.

"Dance, So-"

She never finished her command, screaming out in pain as her shoulder was bit into. The raven-haired Shinigami painfully looked to right find the Hollow leader's teeth in her flesh. Using the last of her strength, she managed to punch a crack on one of its teeth. The sudden pain made the Hollow let the Shinigami spirit let go, swatting the girl to the ground.

'_Dam…'_ The raven-haired spirit thought to herself, her vision getting blurry. Seeing a Hollow heading for her, and all she could do was curse as her doom came for her life. As the masked creature closed in, she felt her momentum stop, the Hollow getting its masked punched through and making it disintegrate. Looking up, she found the orange haired teens face, a scowl showing his mood as he panted for breathe.

"W-why?" the raven-haired spirit asked.

"We may have differences, but you at least tried to save my family." Ichigo answered, looking back at the Hollows. His eyes widened, seeing the leader among the masked creatures making this red sphere from its mouth.

"**Cero!"**

The red sphere launched a beam on energy, heading at a considerable pace. Ichigo quickly brought out the four prongs of energy, charging it up to a full six prongs to block.

*BOOM! *

The attack hit its target, smoke going around the area. Something falling covered in smoke quickly hit the ground, making a sizable crater. When the smoke cleared, both Ichigo and the Shinigami spirit were seen. The raven-haired spirit didn't receive any more damage, though the orange haired teen did. Ichigo's shirt is singed on his left side, the sleeve gone to reveal his entire arm having burn marks. He used the shielding effect to protect the raven-haired spirit from most of the damage, but it didn't hold up on the left side and was broken through. Panting heavily, he looked as the black energy outlined in red was now going around his right arm, moving around wildly. This never happened before, and it was draining his strength to keep it going. But the orange haired teen had to keep fighting, he had to win to make sure his family wasn't going to die because of him; never again…

"…You can't continue like this," the Shinigami spirit spoke up, shakily trying to sit up in a sitting position. "Your power is going out of control. You'll end up killing yourself at this rate, don't you care if you're going to die?"

"If I can protect my family, then it doesn't matter. I've gained this power to protect those I care about, I can't stop…not yet." Ichigo said with resolve, making himself stand in a crouch with his power-covered arm as support. As he talked, the masked creatures started closing in on their location, ready to have their long awaited meal. "I might not be able to stop all those Hollows, but I won't give up because of this! If I stop without using my powers to help…it'll leave me with nothing but regret in the end!"

"…If that's your choice, then let me give you some of my power to help." The raven-haired spirit said, brining his attention to her as she held her Zanpakuto's blade out to him. The Hollow's gained more ground, their excitement barely contained as their speed increased. "You must take my Zanpakuto and run it into the center of your being, so I can pour my powers into you. I don't know if this will work or not, the percentage is not high. If it fails, then we die."

Seeing the masked creatures gaining more speed, Ichigo made his final decision, grabbing the blade with his power covered hand and pointing the tip of the blade by his heart.

"This better work, Shinigami." Ichigo said, readying himself to be stabbed.

"Its not Shinigami, I'm Kuchiki Rukia." Rukia introduced herself.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, nice to meet you."

With introduction out of the way, the Zanpakuto stabbed the orange haired teen, power flowing into his body. The next moment, black energy outlined in red blasted upward, swirling around like a tornado with wind velocity increasing. The explosive power of the transfer knocks Rukia back, unconsciousness embracing her being. The Hollows stop in their tracks once the scene began, tensing up from the increasing power this pillar of swirling energy gave.

Then the energy pillar disappeared, white smoke moving out of the way, revealing Ichigo's form. He had on a black, long sleeved ankle length coat with red lining left to flare out into ragged ends. While it was open, one X is holding it together by his chest, and white armor seen under it. He also had white gauntlets on his hands that stopped up to his elbows, and boots that went up to his knees. Underneath was a white undershirt with the collar upturned and ragged looking, and black body fitting jeans. His right hand held a medium sized black machete like blade with a silver edge while curving inwards at the backside of the tip. The round hilt is silver with grey wrappings, and a short length of chain is at its base.

Standing there for a moment, Ichigo gave a few practice swings with the blade, getting a good feel for it. Satisfied, a grin adorned on his face as he suddenly disappeared from the Hollow's sight. The next moment, a Hollow screamed in pain, one of the Hollows already cut down the middle. Surprised, three of the mask creatures attacked the spot Ichigo stood at. Much to their shock, their attacks passed through the after image left there. Hearing the rushing sound of wind, the Hollows looked up to find the orange haired teen bringing down an axe kick. The new power behind it was easily enough to shatter their Hollow masks, dissipating into nothingness.

Ichigo brought his left forearm in front of him, a bigger four prongs of energy appearing there. With a fling, three six pronged projectiles launched at three of the masked creatures before they had the chance to act. They all hit their targets, now only leaving the leader to deal with.

"**DIE!"** the Hollow yelled, a Cero being shot at the orange haired. Ichigo watched the beam come at him for a moment, bringing his hand up as soon as the beam was within range. The energy was stopped cold, not being able to continue on. All Ichigo did then was swat the energy skyward, seeing the horror on the Hollows face as its strongest attack was swatted away like a fly. Fearing its death, the Hollow turned to flee, needing to get to Hueco Mundo as fast as possible. Before being able to make a Garganta, the masked creature felt the feeling of its mask cracking, then nothing at all as it was destroyed by a punch Ichigo made when moving ahead of the Hollow.

Taking a deep breath, the orange haired teen found this upgrade to his power astonishing. He was defiantly stronger, not needing to use the wind to accelerate his physical attacks for this fight, thanks to his increased speed. While he still needed some time to use a sword, he at least still had the upgraded energy prongs to fight with. Finding a sheath on his back, Ichigo sheathed the weapon before going to Rukia's location. Finding the unconscious girl, her black hakama was replaced with a white robe, and her sword was nowhere t be seen. Ichigo went to pick her up, but a voice stopped him.

"My, my, this is certainly had interesting event this night. Is it too late to ask for an encore?" A man's voice spoke, the orange haired teen looking behind to find who saw what transpired.

He was a tall and lean-built man, with messy light-blond hair with strands framing the sides of the face while a striped-dark green and white bucket hat shadowed his eyes. He was wearing light green shirt and pants, topped with a dark green coat with a white diamond pattern along its bottom half. The traditional Japanese wooden sandals he wore made clomping sounds as he walked closer, stopping a few feet from the orange haired teen. Ichigo's senses were still a bit muddled up from the power increase, but even he could tell this man had more power then he has right now. Not wanting another fight, the orange haired teen decided to see what this guy was after.

"And you happen to be?" Ichigo asked, still tense to attack if needed be.

The aura around the man seemed to take a lighter tone, bringing out a fan and opening it to fan himself.

"I am known as Urahara Kisuke, I happen to run a candy store called Urahara Shoten. I'm delighted to make your acquaintance." Kisuke introduced, his grey eyes now visible.

**(Author Notes)**

**[1] Sense Blocker**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'M BACK! Yeah, letting everyone know i'm still alive, and haven't given up ****writing. Originally, I was going to start a new story, but decided against it for now. I'll consider it after updating Under the Circumstances. Oh, I also need to tell everyone about the result about the poll from months ago.**

***brings out an dust covered envelope* Man, I take long time to update, sorry about that everyone!*opens envelope with a dust cloud***

**Now, as the dust clears, the winner of the poll is...Nozomi Kujo!**

**Review corner is here!**

**Arashigan16:Glad to catch your attention. - Bob:No more waiting Bob! chapter is here! - Lord Edric:Hope i can keep your attention to the story. - BlazingFireAngelXXX:If the new final look of Ichigo's Fullbring didn't gave that away,i don't know what would. There will be some differences, but you'll have to find out in later chapters. - ****Mathew Blackheart:It's cool alright! - nxkris:I'm still ****writing, i don't give a story unless stated otherwise. - ****Reishin Amara:I had to had Rukia pass on her powers cause of the requirement the challenge given, so sorry about that. - Error Named not found:I'm still writing, no worries!**

**Wwatson:Thanks, glad you like the story. - :I tried to explain it the best way I can in the chapter...hopefully. - animeman12:Sorry about the update time, hope you'll still read my fic T.T - sammiieeoo:The changes will hopefully be an interesting change. - MWkillkenny84:The poll was already closed, but i'll keep side pairings in mind. - xNINJABLADE42x:Hope its in a favorable direction. - Galacticwolf:The chapter its finally here. - GGCharms:...its here now :D - animefan29:It is cool! ^‿^**

**wolfeclipse25:Thanks, its here now! - SilverIceRing:Read the chapter for the answer. - Dark Dragen:The poll already decided the pairing, sorry. - MajikG: MORE IS MADE! - Mel72000:It continues now! - Rc1212:Hope you keep liking the story! - B123:As far as I know, the new look its something I came up up with, no real picture. If there is one, sorry if I stole your idea, and ask for permission to still use it - xxnarutodemonxx: he'll have other attacks besides Getsuga Tensho...wait and see ^.^ - G69 Saber: Your story is a also interesting, glad to know you've read my stories.**

**The Infamous Man:read the chapter and find out. - jorgebahena12:Hope this chapter will be ok. - CelestialxXxAngel:Thanks ^‿^ - APTP557:Awsomness! *Air Guitar* - Orichalmus: Its different, you didn't read things wrong. - Chash123: I've never read a story where Rukia ****attempted to unleash her Zanpakuto in the beginning, so I did wanted to see if anyone noticed. - Highvalour:Yeah, when I seen the ****first ****Anime Bleach episode, I thought Rukia was a bit of a arrogant bitch, so thats how i'm starting her personality towards Ichigo**

**...I guess I should consider answering obvious questions only. so...the story begins now!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Karakura High School:<strong>_

Most of the morning for Ichigo went off without any hitches, proceeding like any other day for the orange haired teen. The major difference, this time, was that the now powerless Shinigami joined Karakura High School. Ichigo was confused why she was even still in the World of the Living, but couldn't ask during any classes. Luckily, Rukia made sure to get acquainted with him for the 'first time' during homeroom, asking for a tour before lunch. Guessing that Rukia wanted to talk about what happened last night, he accepted her offer nonchalantly, which now led them to the roof of Karakura High School during a lunch break his friends weren't there for.

"You seem to be doing well, considering what happened last night about got us killed." Ichigo retorted to Rukia, a scowl on his face.

"Tessai is great at healing Kido, so I was luckily able to get into your school today without much problem in this Gigai." Rukia said, giving the orange haired teen a flat look in return. Even Ichigo admitted, despite saying how stupid Kido was, that the power was impressive nonetheless, seeing it heal their wounds with no scars whatsoever.

Urahara was an enigma to the orange haired teen, despite their conversation last night.

_**Flashback/Urahara Shoten:**_

After the confrontation with the group of Hollows, and the supposed shop owner introducing himself, Urahara had suggested to talk in a more secluded place. Picking Rukia up, Ichigo followed the blond haired man through the air rather quickly. The orange haired teen figured if Tsuba of Bonds didn't get upgraded and wasn't activated right now, he'd already fall to the ground in exhaustion by now. Once they got inside the small building with name 'Urahara Shoten', a muscular man was seen standing inside.

"Welcome back, I see that our guests had a rough night." The man with rectangular glasses noted.

"Yes they have, they're going to need to be healed. Now, Kurosaki-san, follow Tessai and he'll be sure to heal all you wounds. If you'll excuse me." Kisuke chirped, moving to the left side of a hallway. Keeping silent, Ichigo followed the tall man, still tense if anything unsuspecting should happen.

'_He certainly seems happy about this situation.'_ Ichigo thought mildly, placing the unconscious girl on the mat in a spare room. Tessai then hovered his hands over the wounds Rukia had and energy pored onto it. The orange haired teen recognized the type of energy as 'Kido' when Rukia had used in battle.

"You shouldn't be so tense, you'll end up getting knots." Tessai told the orange haired teen, bringing Ichigo from his musing.

"Can you blame me? I don't know what your boss is after, Shinigami exist, and the things I thought I knew about the dead barely scratches the surface. I don't know what I just gotten into." Ichigo sighed, troubled about what's all out there.

"Worrying about stuff constantly can get you killed, there's no need to stress yourself out. You should take things on as they come, otherwise you'll become too paranoid to deal with life or death." Tessai said, finishing up Rukia's treatment. He moved over to the orange haired teen, getting ready to heal him.

"Relax, it'll be over before you know it." The muscular man reassured Ichigo, activating his healing Kido. As the energy washed over him, Ichigo felt more relaxed, his wound already beginning to close; it almost made him sleepy. As the processed continued, Ichigo spotted two kids peeking through the sliding door out of the corner of his eye. One was a red headed boy looking at him with a suspicious look in his eye. The other was a girl with dark hair in pigtails, a more curious look in her light blue eyes.

'…_What kind of creeps did I end up with?' _ Ichigo though, already finding it weird with two grown man with children living under the same roof. Before his thoughts went wild, Kisuke entered the room…with Rukia? Ichigo did a double take, back to the Rukia on the mat next to him, then back to the Rukia in Urahara's arms.

"What the hell?"

"It's a Gigai," Kisuke explained, placing the false body next to the real Rukia. He then picked up Rukia's real body, and the orange haired teen watched in surprise as the raven-haired teen phased into the other body. "It's a false body used to allow normal humans to see Shinigami when undercover or if injured."

"I take you're a Shinigami as well then?" Ichigo assumed, feeling the healing Kido leave him. The shop owner seemed to be visually studying him, moving around him while ignoring his question. Once the orange haired teen caught him looking at his machete with a frown, he turned Tsuba of Bonds off, right hand closing around the charm. It seemed to bring Kisuke back to the matter at hand, giving Ichigo a smirk.

"I am a Shinigami, though that story can wait for another time." Kisuke answered the previous question, Ichigo narrowing his eyes in response.

'_He's hiding something.'_ Ichigo noted.

"I take it your curious about Shinigami and their job, correct?" Kisuke asked, bringing his fan back out.

"…Yeah, just what have I gotten into?" Ichigo asked guardedly, sitting in more of a crouch now.

"I'll be happy to tell, only if you do something in exchange for me."

'_Figures.'_ Ichigo thought with a snarl. "And what would that be?"

"You just have to not only be more active to protect Karakura Town from Hollows, you must also protect miss Kuchiki from Soul Society when the time comes." Kisuke explained opening the fan in front of half his face.

The request left Ichigo confused. "Why would I need to protect Rukia from her own people?"

"As soon as you agree, I'll be glad to tell you."

"…Only if you'll train me for the duration of the agreement." Ichigo bargained, a tick mark appearing on his head. If there were Shinigami as strong or stronger then this supposed shop owner, there's little chance he would survive battle against any of the Shinigami as he is right now. Ichigo was going to benefit from this somehow, and training with Urahara was the best bet for it.

"Deal!" Kisuke exclaimed, reaching out and shaking Ichigo's left hand. This left the orange haired teen wondering what he just agreed to, but the shop owner started to explained the details.

"Soul Society is where the Shinigami live, that have thirteen different divisions to protect the World of the Living from Hollows for over a 1000 years. They're tasked with helping spirits pass on to the next life, and getting rid of the bad spirits known as Hollows. Unfortunately for miss Kuchiki, when she transferred her powers to you, it broke their law of not being allowed to transfer her powers to a human." Kisuke explained, closing his fan with a snap.

"But she didn't have a choice in the matter! We would've died if she hadn't! I'm not exactly a normal human either, so they can't just-"

"Doesn't matter." Kisuke interrupted Ichigo, looking seriously at the orange haired teen to shut up his protest. "Your still biologically human, and they don't break their laws just because of the circumstances; their laws keep the world in balance, and they deal with anything that can and will upset said balance. When they find out, Rukia will be put to death."

"…Death?" Ichigo asked in shock, looking back to the unconscious Rukia. She risked death for him and family, despite the consequences that are going to follow after?

"Yes," Urahara confirmed, "The Captain of each division are in another league of strength then you; and they'll make sure to stop anyone, namely you, from handing out their judgment on Rukia. As you are right now, Kurosaki-san, you can't even defeat their Lieutenants, the second in command of each division."

Ichigo absorbed the info, realizing the gap of strength between the Shinigami and him. When they finally figure it out the truth, will he be strong enough to protect Rukia? How long will it take for them to realize one of their own Shinigami broke their stupid rules? Why…

"Why are you helping me?" Ichigo asked, getting Kisuke to blink in surprise. "You're a Shinigami, but you appear to be against them. What do you hope to gain from helping me? What the hell are you after?"

The shop owner remained silent, the room's atmosphere seemingly becoming thick with tension. As soon as it appeared, it was gone.

"My, will you look at the time!" Urahara exclaimed, turning towards the clock, revealing the time to be ten minutes after midnight. " You got school in seven hours, I shouldn't be keeping you from you needed sleep!"

"Don't ignore my question! What are-" Ichigo was silenced by Tessai picking the orange haired teen up, muffling his voice with his hand. As Ichigo tried to break free, his glare bore through Kisuke, the man happily waving goodbye.

"Be sure to keep up your studies up, your education is important too after all!"

_**Present:**_

A wave on anger passed through Ichigo as he recalled the event. He just couldn't help but feel guarded around Kisuke, as if he has some big secret plan for him.

"Not even a day, and you can join school so easily…hard to believe, actually."

"Jeepers, ~" Rukia said in a sugary innocent voice, looking slightly scared at the orange haired teen, "You act like you don't trust me, you big brute. ~"

"You did try to capture me before, but that's besides the point. Enough with the innocent act and tell me what the hell you want to talk about." Ichigo snapped at Rukia, a mild glare joining his deepened scowl on his face. Dropping her act, Rukia went on with business.

"If you didn't know already, my powers are gone, and I can't perform my duties as a Shinigami. Given the circumstances, I'd ask you to take over, but you already agreed with Urahara to do so. I want to know why." She demanded, some confusion on her face.

"That's all?" Ichigo asked, raising an eyebrow. Seeing her demanding look become more prominent, he sighed and went on with his reason.

"There's less I know about the dead than I originally thought, seeing that Shinigami actually exist. So, in exchange for information with what I've just gotten into, and proper training, I'll be overlooking Karakura town more while protecting your powerless ass as long as possible."

' _So he knows.'_ Rukia grimaced, knowing the truth; giving Shinigami powers to a human is forbidden, which is punishable by death. Despite having…abnormal powers already, it doesn't change the fact he's still biologically human.

" Your still willing to help… despite just meeting someone who was trying-"

"It doesn't matter." Ichigo interrupted, surprising Rukia. "I'm not such a selfish person that I wouldn't help someone just because of the circumstances, especially if I'm apart of it."

"But…" The raven-haired girl tried to explain the danger, but Ichigo interrupted her again.

"I'm ignoring you protests, I'm doing this weather you want me to or not," the orange haired teen then pointed at her accusingly. "I'm the one doing the work, so stay out of my way!"

Rukia reeled back in shock, hearing the demand this human gave her!

"Wha…what'd you say? Who do you think you are, ordering me around like that!" she talked back, not liking where this was heading. "I can still help out, you can't just ignore my existence the entire time!"

"And you can't fight against Hollows in your condition! You'll only just hid behind me trembling in fear, going 'save me, save me!' like a damsel in distress!"

"I would not, and I don't tremble!" Rukia gritted her teeth, a big tick mark appearing on the powerless Shinigami's head.

"Name one thing you can do." Ichigo challenged.

"I have a device that can tell when a Hollow will show up!"

"You mean a Hollow in that direction?" the orange haired teen pointed behind him, confusing the powerless Shinigami slightly. At that moment, her Hollow tracker started beeping. Taking the devise out, which looked like a cell phone, and opened it to get to the screen. Seeing Ichigo's guess was correct, Rukia looked back to the orange haired teen to find him in his powered up Tsuba of Bonds.

"While the power up messed my sensing ability's up, I can still track Hollow's while not activating my full power. And seeing that I can track Hollows faster then that device, it won't help." Ichigo explained, running this hand through his hair as green energy followed. The hair color changed to black, while lengthening halfway down his neck. " As soon as you think you have something that'll help, don't get in my way."

Before Rukia had a chance to speak, Ichigo was gone, leaving her behind. Fuming, the raven-haired teen stomped her way back down into school, not noticing her rage scaring the student's she walked by.

_**Urahara Shoten:**_

As soon as school ended, Rukia went straight to the candy shop Urahara worked at. not wanting to have any distractions; she ignored the kids cleaning up in front of the shop, and slid the door opened rather forcefully. Due to the noise she created, it was easy enough to bring the attention of the shop owner. The man walked in, letting out a yawn due to his tiredness. Once seeing who made so much noise, he gave a tired smile to the raven–haired teen.

"Why hello miss Kuchiki, you don't seem to be in a good mood. Is one of our products not up to your satisfactory needs? How about trying out–" Kisuke never got to the finish is sale proposal, because the girl threw the cell phone she had into his face.

"Shut up, I don't need any of your products!" Rukia glared at the shop owner, who was currently rubbing his nose in pain on the floor.

"You could have just said that," he mumbled, standing back up while still rubbing his nose. "And why are you here today?"

"It's about Ichigo, and his strange powers. You know about them more than I do, so I'd like to hear your explanation about them." The raven-haired teen demanded, looking at the blonde haired man with a glare. Kisuke looked at her for a moment, before clapping his hands and yelled out, "Tessai! Go and make some tea, we have a guest that's going to be here for a while."

Urahara made a gesture to follow him, as he walked into the room behind the wall to his left. Rukia followed him to the room, and sat down on the mat by the table, sitting across from the man before her with a grin on his face. After a few minutes of waiting, Tessai walked into the room with a tea set, silently placing it down on the table.

He is a tall, muscular lightly tan skinned man. His black hair is cornrowed, and has a large handlebar mustache, which is connected to his long sideburns. Wearing rectangular shape glasses, his attire consisted of a white muscle shirt with regular pants, and a blue apron. He went and poured the green tea into two cups, and handed them to the two seated, and left the room. After taking a sip of the green tea, Kisuke let out a sigh of content.

"Now, what exactly about Kurosaki-san's powers has you so curious?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Seeing what my transfer of powers has done to his, I don't know if he's an actual Substitute Shinigami," she explained, taking a sip of tea for pause. "I was originally supposed to lose half of my powers, but he has taken all of them. Even with my sensing ability dramatically weakened, it doesn't seem like his powers has change much at all."

"That's exactly the reason on your part, because your spiritual senses are so weak, you can hardly tell the difference at all." Kisuke answered, adjusting his hat slightly.

"So you can tell me then, is he an actual Substitute Shinigami?"

"…Yes and no." The shop owner said, opening his fan in front of half of his face.

"…What you mean by that?" Rukia demanded, glaring at the man looking for an answer.

"There's no doubt that your powers has actually affect his slightly. However, the fact that his powers feel similar to a Hollow decided its dominance in the end. From what was described to me from last night, Kurosaki-san's power seem to be running wildly after you got hit by that Cero. In actuality, I believe his powers were simply evolving."

"_Evolving_?" She asked, not liking the sound of where this was going.

"Yes. Kurosaki-san's powers needed a 'push' in order to adapt and get stronger. When he grabbed your Zanpakuto, did he use his power covered hand?" Kisuke asked, looking at the raven-haired teen expectantly.

"He did, but what does that…"Rukia's eyes widened, recalling the event from last night with realization. "You don't mean!"

Urahara nodded, going on ahead with his explanation. "When he grabbed your sword, the power covering his hand already began leeching off your own energy as you put your power through your Zanpakuto. That's probably why your powers were almost drained completely when you transferred your powers into Kurosaki-san."

_'His powers are more like a Hollow than I originally thought.'_ The powerless Shinigami mused. Taking another sip of her drink, her thoughts went over what to asked next. She decided to have her earlier question better explained in detail, setting down the cup.

"When you said earlier that Ichigo was and wasn't a Substitute, why is it that his powers are more dominant than my Shinigami powers?"

"It simply comes down to that his powers were there longer than your Shinigami powers, that were just introduced. Even though Kurosaki-san powers leeched off yours before they got transferred, it did altered his slightly to that of a Shinigami's." Urahara answered, finishing up drinking his green tea. As he went to pour himself another glass, he went on further into his explanation.

"How much were they altered, that's hard to say. But, I was able to figure out one troublesome thing…"

"And that is?" The raven–haired teen insisted.

"The weapon he now carries isn't exactly a real Zanpakuto; it's more of a pseudo version than anything." The shopkeeper told her grimly, looking at Rukia rather seriously.

"… What?" The raven–haired teen asked again, trying to find any falsehood from what was said to her.

"One of the things that help identify a Zanpakuto is its own unique Reiryoku signature, and Kurosaki-san's weapon doesn't have any subtle differences in its Reiatsu. Considering his powers are similar to a Hollow's, I don't believe it can purify Hollows, or perform Konso." Urahara went into detail, looking at the powerless Shinigami with a straight face. Seeing how serious he was about his explanation, Rukia looked grimly at the situation now.

' _Because Ichigo doesn't know much about how a Hollow's is formed, its likely he won't take the news well if he knows the whole truth…'_ Rukia thought, thinking it'd probably be better if he didn't know the whole truth; who knows what could happened if he knew. Plus, Ichigo can't perform the full duty of a Shinigami correctly…

"As far as the important part of your Shinigami duty is concerned, you just leave that to me," the shop owner said happily, closing his fan and standing back up. "Does that satisfy all your questions, miss Kuchiki?"

"…Yes, for now anyway." Rukia answered, also standing up. She gave a quick bow, thanking him for the information, and left the shop. As soon as she was out of sight, the man's happy look left him rather quickly, knowing more about the situation than he told her. Ichigo's heritage is rather…complicated, as it is. The truth of the matter is, the bit of Shinigami power from Rukia jumpstarted Ichigo's own Shinigami power to wake up when Rukia actually transferred her powers.

Because Ichigo's Fullbring was more active when it manifested a year ago, it managed to subdue Ichigo's Shinigami power's with the extra power it leeched from Rukia's. The Shinigami powers that affected his Fullbring are the result of its dominance; his Shinigami power barely has a foothold as it is. The best bet to get them more of a grasp on the orange haired teen's life is a deathlike experience. If they had more of a hold then, there is a better chance the weapon could be more like a real Zanpakuto.

_**Furin Hall:**_

"HIYA!" a brown hair teen with a decent build yelled, striking towards Ichigo with a punch. He dodge to the left, going in with a jab to his opponent gut, moving behind him with a sharp turn. The orange haired then connected a snap kick to the brown haired teens back, knocking him to the ground in pain. Before he had a chance to recover and get up, Ichigo was already over him, fist close to his back for a mock blow finisher.

"We're finished for today," Ichigo said, moving out of the way as the other guy stood up. "Your reflexes was ok, though it could use some more work."

The brown haired teen gave a bow, "thank you for the lesson, Kurosaki-sempai!"

The orange haired teen also gave a quick bow, telling him to go and get dressed. Dealing with the other students was a bit boring from time to time, but with the up and coming training from Urahara should get things more exciting for him. He didn't dislike the Dojo, but he liked to face strong opponents. Tatsuki's a great partner to train with, but their seniority gave them the job looking over the other white belts training every other week.

"Finished already? You keep on ending training so soon; you'll keep being bored and end up leaving. If that happens, who'll I have to face to keep my skills up?" the voice of Tatsuki scolded the orange haired teen, who looked behind him to find the tomboy with her arms crossed over her chest. Her black hair is short, kept spiked out at the sides in tune with her less than feminine appearance. Her brown eyes had a mild glare, frowning at her childhood friend.

" There is always the other black belts, and sensei to boot. If you're worried about the tournament coming up, you'll win first place for sure." Ichigo reassured, a light scowl on his face.

"That not the problem; we've still got a tie to break, to finally decide who's the strongest between the two of us." Tatsuki informed, shaking her head. Their rivalry in combat was something else, trying to overcome the other for the years since starting karate. After the incident with Ichigo's mother, he took training in martial arts with a passion. With his strength increasing, it wasn't hard to get her motivated as well. As it is right now their tie is at seventy-five wins and losses.

"That'll have to wait for another day," the orange haired teen told the tomboy, taking a towel and heading to the boys changing room. " I'm going to be busy with something for a while, so it's going to have to wait."

" That's just a excuse, coward!" Tatsuki called, watching Ichigo leave her sight. She narrowed her eyes slightly, finding it weird the orange haired teen didn't continue with their rival talk. Was something on his mind? Looking at the clock, she shrugged the thought off, going to the girls changing room; she still needed to make sure Orihime gets a more editable dinner tonight.


End file.
